Maisie Williams on Arya’s fit of laughter, and what’s next for Arya and The Hound

The adventures of Arya and The Hound nearly came to an end this week, as the pair arrived at The Bloody Gate with the expectation of Arya being reunited with her Aunt, and The Hound receiving his long awaited pay off. Instead, they were greeted with some bad news: Lysa Arryn had died, three days ago. Arya then burst into a fit of laughter, leaving some fans wondering if she had finally lost it.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Maisie Williams reveals how she interpreted Arya’s reaction to the bad news.

“That was my favorite reaction of Arya’s ever. When I was doing it, it was more a reaction to The Hound. This whole time he’s been giving her such a hard time. He’s so in control, and he’s this tough guy, saying he’s going to take me to my aunt in the Vale and ‘I’m going to get my money and I don’t care about you, I just want my money.’ And all of a sudden this happens, and Arya completely loves it. And through laughter, she’s saying, ‘Now what are you going to do?’ It’s fascinating to see this little girl giggling in the sunlight.”

With all of the dramatic scenes that Maisie has nailed throughout the years, you would think that a bit of laughter would be a welcome change. Maisie says that it was actually one of the most difficult scenes she’s ever had to film, but she’s glad that it was so well received.

“That’s the happiest on set I’ve ever had to be — literally laughing on command is the most difficult thing. It was just so weird to be able to laugh on set and not be told off for it. I’m glad people like it.”

As funny as the scene was, we were left to wonder what will happen to the dynamic duo next, and we won’t find out until the season finale with next week’s episode dedicated completely to the battle at The Wall. Maisie won’t give anything away, but does say, “They’ve got too much of a relationship now for him to just leave her.”

jkb: interesting. as much as i love maisie i thought the laugh sounded pretty fake ;(

I thought exactly the same… No matter how much I love Maisie, in and out of character, this scene really didn’t do it for me, even though it was great writing. In my opinion, it should have bubbled up in a natural way instead of starting off full on. Glad to see I was not the only one feeling this, but then again, we must be wrong as we seem to be in the vast minority…

It probably sounded ‘fake’ because no one hears maniacal laughter that’s built up for months in real life

And speaking of episode 9, anyone else think the ‘all in one place episode 9s’ take away from the flow of the season more than they add? I mean when you have characters in 8/9 locations putting everything on hold for an hour when the entire thing has to wrap up in the next hour doesn’t really work

“They’ve got too much of a relationship now for him to just leave her.”

This quote does not preclude the fact that Arya may still leave him. Then again, they could mean that their journey will continue into next season….hmmmm…good food for thought. Could this mean she doesn’t end the season on a ship to Braavos? Or could it mean that The Hound goes with her? How awesome would that be (book purists’ heads will explode)! Or perhaps next season will start with her leaving him and then the trip to Braavos…or maybe she doesn’t even go to Braavos…again, heads will be exploding….LOL

I thought it was rather disturbing.

If it had sounded hysterical and if she hadn’t been looking at The Hound for his reaction, then I would have found it disturbing. Arya didn’t even know her Aunt Lysa so she was just a name. Plus having to be taken in by Lysa would have meant dresses, sewing and curtsying, no more swords and fighting, no more adventures…none of which Arya wanted. So I took it as if she was laughing at the irony of the situation and how this puts The Hound in quite a bind.

In all fairness, everyone thinks that laughter is a universally recognized thing, but it isn’t, it’s much more complicated than that. For example, UCLA did a study about people’s ability to distinguish real from fake laughter and participants were correct 2/3 of the time. Not the 100% one would think…so interpreting laughter is clearly not as easy we assume.

If Arya ends up on the Throne, “all your base are belong to us”. For that matter, if any of the so-called filler storylines end up affecting the final major outcomes of the series, you will owe many of us an unqualified apology. I won’t hold my breath though.

I really hope she features heavily next season. Her time in Braavos is some of my favourite content in the books and i have a feeling that they (David and Dan) could add some interesting stuff for her to do. This season has been great for Sansa (last year was great for Jaime, season 2 was Tyrions etc). They really could feature Arya like they have featured Sansa this season, by showing her learning and progressing.

I really hope David and Dan like Arya (and Maisie) because it seems like they put more effort into their favourite characters. I just dont want them to push Arya to the side again next season and only having her in 5-6 episodes (i understand why they have done it this season but they really should feature her more next season. I would like to see Arya and Sansa swap roles next season by having Arya feature heavily and having Sansa appear every so often

Walter Harrow:I really hope she features heavily next season. Her time in Braavos is some of my favourite content in the books and i have a feeling that they (David and Dan) could add some interesting stuff for her to do. This season has been great for Sansa (last year was great for Jaime, season 2 was Tyrions etc). They really could feature Arya like they have featured Sansa this season, by showing her learning and progressing.

I really hope David and Dan like Arya (and Maisie) because it seems like they put more effort into their favourite characters. I just dont want them to push Arya to the side again next season and only having her in 5-6 episodes (i understand why they have done it this season but they really should feature her more next season. I would like to see Arya and Sansa swap roles next season by having Arya feature heavily and having Sansa appear every so often

I actually think that [spoiler]arya[/spoiler] will get the same amouth of screentime as Bran has this season. Maybe a little bit more, but I don’t see the point in the storyline honestly.

I think this is where the Director’s Guild (or whatever group that states only 1 director credit per episode) is really limiting this type of storytelling. If they could have Neil Marshall just focus on the battle and space it out over a couple of episodes, then have another director handle the other scenes for the other story lines while still giving everyone credit where it is deserved, they would probably do it.

A few characters (Bran, Sansa) have already caught up with their story arcs in the books, whereas Arya still have a fair bit of content to get through so i have a feeling that she will be in at least 7-8 episodes next season and others will have the same treatment she has had this season

One of the best scenes from Maisie and deservedly praised. People who complain have probably never been in such a horrible situation before; one in which you lose all hope to the extent that the entire universe becomes one absurd joke, and you don’t even care if you live or die.

Personally, I lived through it last fall — the laughter was incredibly appropriate.

Could you explain why that is? Is it like a union that all the directors are in or is it something HBO agrees to? It really disrupts the narrative quality, although unlike season 2, this season is so strong I don’t think anyone will mind

I honestly think that Maisie didn’t get that scene…I believe that Arya’s laughter was all about the irony of what’s happening in her life, because from her point of view everyone who has a connection with her dies.

Arya storyline with the Hound is my favorite part in the book, I’m quite happy with what they have done on screen so far although I will be very disappointed if they won’t do a certain scene properly. I really hope we are going to see their last scene togheter just the way it’s depicted in the book. I love that scene so much and I think both Maise and Rory would certainly do a great job if the writers haven’t change the story too much :/

“They’ve got too much of a relationship now for him to just leave her.”

Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ:
This quote does not preclude the fact that Arya may still leave him.Then again, they could mean that their journey will continue into next season….hmmmm…good food for thought.Could this mean she doesn’t end the season on a ship to Braavos?Or could it mean that The Hound goes with her?

I was also zeroing in on that quote. I interpreted it like you to be her leaving him…but definitely not giving him mercy. As we saw (and discussed before), his wound is festering, he has announced to the world that he is in the Vale and is vulnerable to attack, and Arya has a coin in her pocket that she is destined to use.

If I may, her penultimate scene this season will be leaving the Hound to his misery near the Vale after a bloody skirmish (a fate maybe worse than death, she hopes) with a statement like “Remember Mycah”. Then her last scene, near the end of the episode, will be her arriving at Saltpans and handing the coin to the captain. Her last words of the season will be “Valar Morghulis”…the theme for the whole season.

Aggelos Loukatos:
I honestly think that Maisie didn’t get that scene…I believe that Arya’s laughter was all about the irony of what’s happening in her life, because from her point of view everyone who has a connection with her dies.

I think it’s a bit of both. At first it’s like you said. She just loses it after everything that has happened to her. Every time she gets to or on her way to a destination fate steps in. I mean think about it. First Yoren is going to drop her off at Winterfell on his way to the Wall, then that is foiled by Lannister bannermen and she is taken to Harrenhal. She eventually escapes and is on her way north again when she is taken by the BwB. But then that’s OK b/c they are going to take her to her family at Riverrun. But then, nope, they want to go raiding instead. So she escapes and heads out on her own again only to be snatched up by the Hound. But then that’s OK b/c now her family is at the Twins and the Hound will take her there. Then they arrive at the Twins WHILE the Red Wedding is happening. But at least she has one family member left right? Lysa will take her in at the Eryie. So of course when they arrive there they find out Lysa died just a few days ago. I can’t imagine her having any other reaction other than hysterical laughter.

Yeah, I would prefer that the season end for her on a ship to Braavos with The Hound left behind to suffer. I prefer the book’s sequence of events EXCEPT I would like to be spoiled as to whether The Hound is alive on The Quiet Isle.

jkb: interesting. as much as i love maisie i thought the laugh sounded pretty fake ;(

I actually think it sounded pretty genuine: Just check out YouTube, and compare the laughter to Maisie’s laughter when she’s being interviewed. Besides, it’s the kind of laughter you’d expect from a young teenage girl.

Bard:
So it actually was meant to be funny? I thought it was rather disturbing.

Disturbing? No, I felt it was more surprising and unexpected than disturbing, because you don’t hear Arya laugh very often (on the contrary). You might find it disturbing if you think that she laughed because her aunt was dead, but that was not why she did it.

Your lips to D&D’s ears!I am anxious to see how they end things between Arya and Sandor and really hope they follow the book because the scene between them is friggin’ brilliant. I can’t help but think that Sandor has a role to play in future books, as Starks begin to return to the North. I am a total believer in the Gravedigger theory.